


Soft Gaze | Revivebur and Technoblade DSMP

by asheislost (Ash_Wings24)



Category: DSMP - Fandom, Dream SMP - Fandom, mcyt
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Not A Shipfic, OOC, Slight blood mention, literally copy and pasted (and edited) from a roleplay i did, revivebur, revived wilbur, they are brothers your honour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29718987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash_Wings24/pseuds/asheislost
Summary: This didn’t canonly happen. It’s just a long roleplay (over 8000 words) that a friend and I did.Revivebur and Technoblade angst :)
Relationships: Sleepy Bois Inc - Relationship, found family - Relationship
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Soft Gaze | Revivebur and Technoblade DSMP

**Author's Note:**

> go follow ak_maizing on twitch. he did the technoblade bits. i did the wilbur bits. asheislost on twitch :)

The soft breeze of the wind made the leafs around him rustle and dance around. He sits down on the grass of the hill, he looks from above how the people from the mainland run around, probably talking about governments or something like that. He leaves a sigh out as he moves his eyes towards the hole that he and dream had made.

The obsidian grid above it was still there, it made Techno relieved. It meant they weren't even thinking about bringing L'manburg back.

L'manburg...

He stretched and laid back on the grass, closing his eyes to protect them from the sun, it was warm and nice, but it hurt his eyes.

A rustle disturbed the adjacent blades of grass, as soft footsteps of heavy boots collided. 

He wasn’t sad, just somber. The place he built to be free was his downfall. It deserved to end, and if anyone were to carry out the weighted task, it’d be his anarchist friend.

Words gathered in his brain, unable to breathe them, yet. He almost didn’t want to disturb the peace. Tired eyes gazed over the horizon, damaged and scarred.

He heard the un mistaken noise of someone nearing, he sat straight and looked to his side.

" Hey, " He said, his voice quiet and calm, he crossed his legs to be able to sit sideways.

Wilbur smiled, pleased he wasn’t the one to initiate conversation.

“Hi, Techno,” He said in the unmistakable tone of himself. This wasn’t Ghostbur.

He froze at the tone of his voice. That wasn't the voice he had been listening to for the past months. It took him a few seconds before he could look up at him. "Wilbur." He said still in disbelief of seeing a dead man walking.

He knew he was back, it'd just take a while to get used to it. " So you did it, huh. " He said standing up.

" Came back from the dead. " He sighed. " How's it like not being a ghost anymore? " He tried to joke, not really looking for a serious conversation with his old friend.

A smile hid his nervous laughter. “I can’t really remember, is the thing.” 

He remembered Philza that morning, with Eret and Fundy as they worked some funky magic. He remembered Philza taking the diamond sword to his chest. But everything between those moments seems distant and long. Just long hours spent on a dark train.

Occasionally, there were two times, Ghostbur entered the train. If only for a moment, he radiated a joy that Wilbur missed. He wondered if people would miss Ghostbur.

“I did it. Not that I had a choice, and well. I must say. There were a lot of things I missed.”

Specifically, feeling things. Being off that train. Touching the morning dew on the fresh grass. He missed a lot more than he noticed, but wasn’t sure if that meant he wanted to be here.

" I see, " He said, walking closer to him. He looked at him up and down. " You've missed a lot of things, " the words died on his mouth for a few seconds. Not Ghostbur. " Wil. " 

He thought about all of the events after the death of Wilbur.

The things Tommy went through, the arrival of new people, the definite destruction of L'manburg, many things had happened. 

" I'm not the best if you want to catch up in everything you missed. Maybe Phil could help with that, he was around New L'manburg more than me. " He chuckled.

" But you wanted to talk to me, right? " He asked anxiously looking back at the scene before them. " At least I think so, why would you look for me over anyone else? "

“You may reject the notion, Tech, but you’ve been like a brother to me. Honestly, I trust you more than Philza. Nothing against him, it’s just.. you two aren’t as similar as you say.”

Wilbur ran his long fingers through the overgrown grass. Busy brown eyes glanced up the piglin man, kind and tired. 

“And don’t act like you’re not part of the narrative. You know quite a lot about the land and it’s story for a loner.” He chuckles. “Just not it’s people.”

“So what’s happened since my... death?”

Techno's expression softened a little at the nickname. He wouldn't admit it, but to some extent, Wil was also like a brother to him; not that he knows much about having one anyway.

He felt a weird wave of worry wash over him when Wilbur asked about the events that took place after his death, mostly because he knew Ghostbur's stance about things he had done in the past.

This, however, wasn't Ghostbur at all.

" Well... A lot has happened since you... " He made a subtle motion to Wil's chest. " Were gone. You'd be surprised at the amount of things that can come up in three months. " He turned his vision back at the hole that once was L'manburg. " Or that can come down." He said in a softer tone, keeping his eyes locked on the obsidian grid his teammate that day had made.

“You did a good job. I’m not... I’m proud of you. They never learnt, even when I tried to show them all good things must come to an end. Those kids are stubborn.”

He found himself clutching his shirt, right at his chest. They were some baggy clothes given to him by Philza. He still had his boots, luckily.

“I noticed I... I don’t have a grave, Techno.” Sorrow floods him, remembering searching every inch of the smp. “Schlatt had one. Why didn’t I?”

Techno chuckles a little at the first sentence, he knew they were, my god he knew.

He looked up at the clouds, thoughtful, he didn't remember exactly why but he remembers hearing Ghostbur mention something about it. " Yeah... Ghostbur looked for it as well, i don't remember exactly but- i think it was something along the lines of people not missing you or something like that. " When he realized how his words sounded he straightened a little. " I mean- not in a 'Oh this man was so bad, I'm so glad he's gone!' You know? It was more of a... Like- " He was struggling to find his words a little. " People didn't miss you because you were there. Yeah, I think that's what they had said. "Well- Not YOU you but like- Ghostbur. They had Ghostbur so they didn't miss you, and apparently graves are for people you miss. " Techno tried his best to explain. " I guess they just didn't count having your ghost around as having you dead yet. " He chuckled the last bit to try to lighten the mood.

Wilbur tried to smile, grabbing the grass tightly.

“Don’t stress about it. I just wondered,” He laughed. “I guess that makes sense... But that wasn’t me, y’know? Hm...”

The wind rustled his curly hair, tucked into a black beanie. It was hand knitted from Niki.

“You stress too much.”

Techno sat back down by his side, not looking at him. "Pretty sure that's a very known fact about me." He says with a chuckle.

"Probably one of my most prominent features, I'd say." He finished with a joking tone, not wanting to go back to the Ghostbur theme knowing it could negatively affect Wil knowing everyone rathered his ghost self over him. They weren't to blame, but no one wants to hear that everyone loves a different version of you. 

Techno tilted his head. "Have you spoken to anyone else yet?" He said curiously, wondering if he still wanted to know what had happened while he was gone.

“Actually, only Eret and Philza this morning. Not very much, either. And in my defence, I looked for Tommy. Couldn’t find him,” He sighs, smiling at the kindness in Technoblade’s voice. In comparison to a hyper Mexican and an alcoholic ram, it was a nice contrast.

Wilbur had a list of people to talk to, but it seemed to randomly happen at this point. He had been looking for Tommy when he stumbled across Technoblade. Nice trade, he’d thought, as he roughly scrapped the grass.

Techno hummed. "He's maybe with that guy, uhhhh, Sam, I believe? He's building a hotel or something." He said without much thought. He turned to Will and noticed how he was treating the grass near him. 

Techno has never been one for comfort, it was clearly proven by the time Tommy moved in with him to escape from Dream, but he knew that what Will was doing probably wasn't good. He tensed slightly, not knowing how to react in this type of situation. "Wil, are you okay?" He said, trying to keep his voice as soft as he could.

“He’s... Yeah? I’m fine,” Wilbur shoved his hands into his lap, fiddling with his thumbs rather aggressively.

“How have you been? What’ve you been up to?” He licked his chapped lips, unsettled by the question pointed at him.

Techno looked at him with narrowed eyes, he wasn't stupid, and Wilbur could be a really good liar if he wanted to, but it was clear by his actions that he wasn't 'fine'.

"I've been doing alright, have been doing a bunch of stuff with Phil. Also had this new kid live around my house, he's a better neighbour than Tommy, that's for sure." At least he's a neighbour and not a pest living under my floor he thought with a light chuckle. He kept looking at Will looking for any sign of the taller man relaxing at least a tiny bit.

“Wait wait. Was Tommy your neighbour?” He snickers, the image crafting in his head, ridiculous.

“Oh, and who’s this new kid? I’ve really missed a lot, haven’t I?”

"Eh, more like a pest, the kid came to my house after being exiled for like two weeks; he looked terrible. I don't know how he did it, looking for shelter from Dream, problem is, he never asked for permission. I came to my house one day and turns out I now have a gremlin living under my basement's floor." He laughs when he remembers how ridiculous the whole scene was. "Not to mention he kept stealing my stuff. It was a pain."

"And the new kid?" He says thinking about how he could describe him. "I don't know if you've seen him, he's half enderman, he's- SO tall. He appeared right after..." He trailed off a little. "Yeah... Along with other people, Phil said we should let him stay around, and well, you no you just can't say no to Philza Minecraft." He said with a playful tone, grateful for moving away from the prior tense situation, but he still stared at Wilbur closely looking for any sign of him getting better or worse, hopefully better.

Wilbur laughed heartily. 

“Tommy is just a little pest to you, isn’t he?” He smiles, thinking of the way they bullied the child together. It was always a collective effort. “And I haven’t seen any ender child walking around. So, why was he “taking shelter” from Dream?”

A part of him wished Technoblade was just messing around. Another part knew something was up, and was deeply pissed.

"Absolutely nothing more than a pest." He knew that wasn't entirely true, he let the child stay for a reason, if it had been anyone else they would have been kicked out or killed in a heartbeat.

Techno's expression changed to a slightly more concerned one. He knew that Wilbur had always been the closest to Tommy and he didn't know how he would take Tommy's exile. "Dream basically made Tubbo exile Tommy just for some light arson. He sent him to a land across the sea, and told him that he would kill him if he ever landed a single foot on the DreamSMP." Techno stopped for a bit trying to remember what other things Tommy had told him. He tensed when the memories of the poor boy barely holding himself together while reciting all of the horrible things Dream had done to him hit him. "He manipulated him, Tommy didn't want to see it, but he did. He made him think he was his only friend. Even while he was in my house, he was still terrified of Dream finding him." Techno said trying to not seem angered. Tommy could be awful sometimes, but he will never erase from his memory the image of him, the always proud, always extra kid, fearing for his life to the point where he teamed up with someone who had destroyed everything he had. "Dream even went to look for it at my house." He continued. "I made it my job to bully him until he left. Did you know he was homeless? Not anymore that's for sure" He said trying to make the situation lighter than what it was.

A bit of Wilbur Soot crushed inside. He wanted to use that crushing feeling to pummel Dream into little bits. 

But also Tommy. Everyone seemed to get more and more hurt after Wilbur left, and the point of him leaving was to end all pain. Mission failed.

“So where is Dream now?” Hostility leaked into his tone. Wilbur’s hands were balled into fists, his nails piercing his frail palms. Blood traced down his hands and onto his wrists, seeping into the baggy, white shirts borrowed from Philza.

“Where is he?”

The second Techno sensed the scent of blood he quickly looked at Wil. 

He turned so he was fully looking at him. 

"I will not tell you until you calm down." He said with a serious tone.

“I’m calm, Technoblade. Don’t worry,” He heaved through gritted teeth. His eyes were narrow and unfocused, unable to make eye contact.

“Just answer me.”

"Death made your lying skills rusty, Soot." He said staring at him dead in the eye. "I will not tell you until you calm down." He repeated, making it clear that he knew he had hurt himself.

Wilbur chuckled roughly, bloodlust thirsting in his voice. “I am... calm.” 

Air whistled through his teeth and nose. “I am calm. I just have to know.”

Techno realized that going on was an already lost fight. He settled down a little.

"He's in prison. One life left." He said bluntly.

“One life? What the... Prison? There’s a prison now? What happened to his other lives? Technoblade, this just... Is this the same tyrant that almost took my entire nation?” Wilbur blubbered, “How?!”

“Tech, this doesn’t make sense?!”

Techno chuckled at Wil's antics. "Of course you don't, I told you you had to calm down. Will you calm down and let me explain?" He said, finding out a new way to get Will to calm down.

Wilbur shuffled into an alternative sitting position, with his knees up to his chin. He mumbled some words under his breath as he slipped off his boots, before breathing out a heavy, “When will I be calm enough for you?”

His eyes started to blur and burn, blinking rapidly to deter the coming mess. He didn’t want to do this. Not here. Not now. Please.

Techno's expression softened as he saw Wil's eyes start watering. He started sitting down on his calves.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself further, is that too much to ask?" He said calmer than before.

"Listen, you have nothing to worry about. From what I've heard, Tommy took Drean's lives. Then they threw him in the prison." He said all he knew to him, looking for him to calm down knowing Tommy had his revenge.

“But he’s... I don’t understand, Tech,” He coughed the mucus away. “I wasn’t even on the tubeline for so long. How can so much happen? How can so many people get hurt? I should’ve been there for you and Tommy. If I hadn’t... What would’ve happened if I hadn't blown up my home? Philza was right. Philza was right. I shouldn’t’ve just left everything as it were. I’m a fool, Technoblade,” He chuckles, “I’m a fool.”

Techno felt something get over him. He grabbed Wil by the shoulders to make him focus. "Look at the bigger picture Wil. Tommy got the confidence to not only fight Dream but kill him two times! He even would have killed him for good, he's growing Will. And even if you hadn't blown up L'manburg." He moved an arm to gesture at the hole that once was his country. "Look at that! I did that! Dream and I did, L'manburg was going to go one way or another. And maybe you weren't for Tommy, but guess what? Ghostbur was, and that was more than enough for him." He said, trying to calm the other man down.

Large hands grasped his shoulders, sending his mind in a whirl. He closed his eyes roughly, pushing Technoblade away.

“Get off me! I’m not Ghostbur! Why does everyone seem to like Ghostbur so much? Even Philza was upset when he saw me! Can’t one person just like me for me and not... Just don’t touch me,” He panted, “I wasn’t there for Tommy, when I should’ve been. It doesn’t matter if Ghostbur was because Ghostbur wasn’t me! Obviously! I can’t remember anything he did.”

Wilbur sighs, grasping at the bloody shirt sleeves. “I can’t remember anything, Techno.”

Techno understood that he didn't want to be touched, he still was dead worried about his old friend.

"Wilbur, I understand you're not Ghostbur, I've known it since day one! I know you are you and I know Ghostbur is Ghostbur!" He tried to reach for him again but knew it wasn't the right way to go, he backed up a little, no kneeling instead of sitting down.

"You can't keep beating yourself down for things that already happened, Will! You weren't there for Tommy back then, but you can now." He left out a sigh. "But you have to understand that he'll need time to get used to you again." He thought about one last thing that might help Wil. "Do you know why he kept Dream alive?"

"He said he could bring you back."

Wilbur laughed. “Dream? Why would Dream want me alive? I was constantly going against him and encouraging Tommy to do the same.”

His eyes softened.

“Tommy kept Dream alive because of me?”

Somewhere inside him, he was celebrating, but on top of that feeling was the crushing knowledge that his brother’s abuser was only around because of him.

"Yes, Wil." He said noticing his effort had worked. "Dream said he could bring people back to life or something like that, so Tommy kept him alive and then the prison came into the conversation and now, well, he's in there. I've heard he's not doing well there." He remembered that Ranboo had told him about how he could hear Dream and grew worried about the efficiency of the prison.

"Tommy he- He cares a lot about you. The only reason he kept holding onto Ghostbur was because it was the last thing he had to hold on to you." He said sitting down again. "He still needed you, even after you hurt him." Techno finished, looking up at his brother at heart.

Wilbur slowly shuffles into a criss cross applesauce position, his boots beside him. His watery eyes started to spill like a cup under a faucet that’s been going too long.

“He shouldn’t have done that. He shouldn’t care so much. He’s such a dumb kid. I hate that he... that he cares so much.”

He breathed heavily, finding it hard to inhale through a stuffy nose. 

“I wish I could’ve been there, Tech.”

Techno wasn't sure on how to help anymore, he was never the one good at it, but for Wil, he'd try.

"The only reason he cares so much is because of how much he looks up to you. I don't know if you didn't see it or never choose to, but every time he looked at you he looked like he was meeting his greatest hero for the first time." Techno tried to explain.

"Be there for him now, Wil. Be the older brother he needs." He finished, not sure about what to do now that Wil was crying.

Wilbur acted like he wasn’t even crying. His tears were falling down, and he smiled nonchalantly.

“I’m going to be the best fucking brother, Technoblade. And you’re in the middle of the TOS so... I’m going to take care of you too.” He laughed, like Techno wasn’t the one taking care of him now.

Wilbur laughed so wide, his smile showed his teeth.

Techno physically tense slightly, Wilbur had just come back, the last thing he needed was to start worrying a lot again. "You don't... Have to worry about me, I'm alright." He reached into a pocket in the back of his pants looking for a small piece of cloth, he put it clearly into view for Wil asking for permission to clean his face.

Wilbur acted confused at the cloth, before nodding hesitantly. 

“I always have to worry about you. Don’t I?”

Techno carefully moved the cloth closer to Wil's face, he made sure to move carefully, not being rough while passing the cloth over his cheeks, using his other hand to slightly lift his face for it to be easier for him. 

"You don't Wil..." He sighs. "I mean it, you don't need to worry about me. If anything, I worry about you." He said in a softer tone.

He leans in slightly to the touch, shaking. Wilbur resists the urge to grab Techno’s hand and hold it there.

“You shouldn’t. I’m doing just fine, Tech. There’s no reason to worry.”

Techno looked at him for a few seconds. "My old friend is back from the dead and you think I won't worry? Do you really think i won't worry about you after i just saw you hurt yourself? You need time to heal, Wil. You can live in my house for a while if you need." He said calmly, pulling back the cloth from Wilbur's face when he had dried it completely, keeping the piece in hand if needed.

Wilbur swallowed dryly when the cloth was pulled away, his heart aching at the lost touch. 

“I didn’t hurt myself,” He replied bitterly, “Although... Thank you for the offer. I can see I don’t have anywhere else to return.”

Techno spared him a half smile. "I mean technically there's Pogtopia still but I wouldn’t recommend living in an abandoned cave, who knows what type of illnesses could be there." He tried to joke off slightly.

"Can i see your hand?" He said softly motioning to the hand that was still giving him a strong blood scent.

Wilbur shifted slightly, unsettled. He offered up his shaking palms, which he hadn’t noticed were bleeding from crescents.

“How did you know? Fucking piglin weirdo.” He chuckles, unnerved.

Techno chuckled with him, taking his hand into his own looking at the small cuts. "Man, i don't know, it's not like there's a whole phrase that is used with me referring to blood." He said sarcastically as he carefully started passing the cloth over the crescents.

He knew they weren't big but he was still being as careful as he could, he wondered if he could have avoided this from happening in the first place.

Wilbur inhaled shakily, finding it hard to talk. 

“Right. Blood for the blood god, ay?” He chuckled stiffly. “So what? You have super senses now? I don’t remember that when we were younger... Remember SMP Earth? I started to think that was less chaotic than this...”

Techno smiled. "Oh totally, this place is so much worse than SMP Earth. And about my advanced sense of smell, it just gets better the more you use it I suppose, it's not a big deal." He was so used to blood, being covered in it, being surrounded by it, bleeding himself, the smell of blood was normalized in him, everytime he sensed it he would feel the same as smelling a forest.

“You concern me, sometimes,” Wilbur sighed, his hands grateful. 

“What have you been up to? Is there peace now?”

Once Techno made sure there was no more blood on his friend's palm he let the cloth sit on his lap as he passed his fingers over the small cuts carefully, trying to figure out how deep they were. He chuckled at the first sentence but tensed at the second.

"Things have been quieter ever since I finally destroyed that place. I don't know how everyone is doing here in the DreamSMP but, with me and Phil everything has been rather calm. It's weirdly soothing knowing i don't have to fight anymore, although that could change soon. I can feel it." He finished, thinking about the egg and the Syndicate.

He figured that Wilbur's hand might need some light bandages just to keep the cuts from getting dirty or infected, he made a mental pin to bandage his hand when they went back to his snowy cottage. He kept Wilbur's hand in his, unsure of why.

Wilbur eyed the hands, not knowing why he found comfort in the situation. 

“I thought the end of L’manburg would resolve everything. I was a fool, hm. So where do you live?” 

His feet ached to stand and carry himself elsewhere. He had sat on the train for who knows how long. Wilbur wanted to walk under the warm sun. Wanted to hold the chilled snow. Wanted to smell the baking of bread.

He wanted to experience what he had missed most.

Techno fidgeted with Wil's hands to have something to focus on. "It's a snowy area, we can go there through the main nether portal." He said calmly. "I actually think Phil might be there right now, probably even Ranboo."

“Who is Ranboo?” Wilbur scanned their conversation in his head, assuming it was the new kid who was neighbours. “The enderman?”

"Yeah, sometimes he's around sometimes he isn't. He also has a terrible memory." He chuckles slightly, Ranboo was all he needed after Tommy betrayed him. Ranboo was the first person besides Phil that treated him like a person. "I think you'll like him." Techno smiled. "He's an... Interesting person." Techno said with a light chuckle.

“I guess I’ll see... Do you mind showing me around? Philza couldn’t. He said he was busy.” (But I’m sure he just didn’t want to be with me.) He continued in his head, somber.

“I missed... this.”

Techno started standing up, never letting go of Wil's hand under the excuse of helping him up. "Sure, I don't mind." He realized the cloth was a little dirty and decided to leave it on the ground, it was just a piece of cloth anyways. "Missed what?"

“Missed... everything, really. Being anywhere but a dark, dusty, crowded, cold train is rather nice. Seeing you guys... you. is nice. Feeling the grass, smelling the air. I missed it all, Tech.” 

“I missed you.”

Wilbur stood up with him, his legs antsy to move.

Techno kept holding his hand, yet he loosened his grip slightly to give Will the choice of letting go if he wanted. 

' He misses you '

Techno smiled slightly, barely visible. "Well, i suppose being away from everything for a really long time could make you miss everything." He knew about it, of course he did, probably not being dead, but being confined in a place you didn't choose to be in. "I missed you too, Wil."

“I think... I’m out of questions. Just tired.” He laughs. “You’d think that after a few weeks of being dead, you would feel fresh as a daisy, blossoming in spring.

With his spare hand, he rubbed his forehead. “Why am I so tired?”

Techno looked at him for a few seconds, concern clear in his expression. "Well- You're probably just getting used to being back in your body." He shrugged. "But what do I know, you have more experience on death than me, that's for sure, you've been there for like 3 or 4 months after all, and me? Well, there's another phrase for that one." Techno said with a chuckle ' Technoblade never dies! '

“I’ve... No. I’ve only been there for a few weeks. Maybe a couple days. I counted the seconds. I lost count, sure, but there’s...” Wilbur looks down to the grass as he hyperventilates. “You’re wrong! I wasn’t gone for that long. Was I?”

Techno realizes how Wil was affected and is quick to hold his hand tighter. "Wil, hey, look at me." He said now using his free hand to gently rest it on the other man's shoulder, he's not good at comforting, but for Wilbur he would try.

"Maybe time continues differently when you're dead, but i am telling you the truth. You passed in November from last year, and we're in february." He said in the calmest tone he could bare out, he hated watching the other panic. "It's no big deal, okay? You don't have to worry about that, you're here now and that's all that matters."

“You tell me not to worry, but you know I will. Right?” He sighed, leaning into Technoblade’s warm chest. Wilbur was tired beyond comprehension. Emotional stress wasn’t helping. Physical stress of getting used to being alive again, only made things worse.

Techno looked surprised at the hair of the other. He sighed, finally letting go of his hand only to hug him. "I know, you always worry, always worry about everything. Wouldn't it be nice to give yourself a break? You just came back and the first thing you do is worry again!" Techno said holding him close, feeling as if he'd disappear if he let go.

Wilbur chuckles sadly. “You know. The only things I could think about while I was dead, was if you all were okay. What you were doing. If I had made the wrong choice...” He melts into the hug, body frigid.

“Do you think I made the wrong choice?”

Techno stared into the ground behind Wilbur for what felt like minutes. "In a world like this there are no wrong choices, Wil. You did what you felt was right, and that's all that matters." He said trying to sound reassuring.

Wilbur groans in frustration, throwing his hands around. “But was it right? I made Philza upset, I know. Tommy and Tubbo were practically terrified to only hear me...”

He tears out some of his hair, filled with agony. “I don’t understand.”

“But thank you for trying, Techno.”

Techno parts quickly away from Wil just to grab his hands, afraid he might hurt himself further. "Wil, they care about you, Phil missed you, Tommy misses you, Tubbo probably misses you too, how do you think they would react if they saw you treating yourself like this? You never saw it before, but Tommy was dead worried about you when you were going insane."

Techno tries to calm himself down, realizing he was probably trying to reach too much.

" I care about you," He said with a slightly softer tone. He sighed as he remembered one word that would always bend him, he never used it, nicknames were more of a Tommy thing, but he figured it would bring comfort to him. "Wilby." He finished after a short pause with a sigh.

“He was... I don’t understand, Technoblade. I don’t understand. Can we just focus on something else, maybe?” Wilbur practically begs, rubbing the palms of Techno’s hands as he breaths. 

Why would anyone bother worrying? Why would anyone care? He had always done his best to avoid these questions but his mind was running on empty.

Techno felt his whole body release a tension he hadn't even felt before. He didn't know what it was, but he was glad the conversation was about to turn to a different topic. He sighed. "Of course..." Once more, he loosened his grip on Will to allow him the choice of holding on or letting go, not wanting to make him feel bad.

"Uhhh, where do you want to go first?" He asked with his usual tone, remembering why they stood up.

Wilbur sighs sadly. “Well, I’ve seen... L’manburg. I’ve seen lots of blown up things, actually.”

He smiles. “Can you show me something pretty?”

Techno narrows his eyes in thought, not many places were pretty around, at least not right now, everywhere was covered in those weird red vines, he guessed he could lead Wilbur to his snowy cottage.

"Well... We could go to my home, not biased at all but I'd say it's really pretty." He says with a chuckle.

“Did you build it?” He chuckles, heart already feeling lighter. Wilbur would love to see the cottage.

''Of course!'' He says he always builds his own stuff, sometimes with Phil's help.

''The structure came totally all from my mind too, completely original, didn't got it from anywhere else.'' He continues with a more sarcastic tone and a chuckle, starting to walk towards the main nether portal.

“I believe you.” He lied. Wilbur follows with a slight bounce, excited to see something perhaps not blown up.

“I had something funny I was going to say. I forgot it. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. Guess I’m getting old,” he groaned, acting like a child more than an elder.

Techno tried to figure out Wil's tone to find out if he was being serious about not remembering stuff or not, he decided to not give too much thought to it.

''Can't believe you're on your way to you Philza phase.'' Techno said jokingly, making fun of Phil for being old and Wilbur for suggesting getting older. ''Just make sure you remember who i am or i will kill you this time.'' He said jokingly.

Wilbur laughed sadly. “Yeah... Um. Anyway. Philza lives with you?” He put on a smile, unnerved.

Techno realized that maybe that was a really bad joke. "Uh... Yeah, well- Not really, kinda? He has his own place just- no one knows where it is, and he spends a lot of time at my place so-" He tried to explain.

“So you’re dad is— sorry,” he fake pity-pouts, “Mentor is leeching off of you. Imagine.” 

Wilbur smiles, true this time. He feels bad for feeling bad. He was too sensitive, Wilbur thought. About himself.

Techno looks at him for a few seconds. ''Haha, very funny. He's nothing even remotely close to a father figure.'' He says remembering Phil's violent tendencies. 

''He's kinda not even my mentor anymore, he's just a friend of mine.'' He says as they reach the portal. He does a little motion towards it as he goes through as a 'follow me'.

Wilbur prepares himself. Having not been through a nether portal in... months. He supposes he’ll have to get used to that again.

“Sure. Dude. You would give the world for Philza. I don’t even have that dedication to the child.”

Techno thinks about the countless times he has thrown himself into battle for the sole purpose of protecting Phil as he hits a fireball right back at a ghast that had spawned near the portal. The scream they left upon their death normal in his ears.

"I mean, Phil does have only one life, and he throws himself into way too many unnecessarily dangerous situations." He shrugs, putting his axe away. "Old man is probably going to get himself killed by accident if I'm not there." Techno says, the idea of Phil leaving after so many years of trustworthy companionship through thick and thin makes the voices in his head roar. He can't lose the only person he truly trusts.

Wilbur laughs. “That man is a champion at staying alive. Just don’t let him go into any dark caves with baby zombies and spiders around.”

Will snickers at his own joke, finding the way that Philza had lost a previous life quite hilarious. Also disappointing. Five years later, he had that life. Yet Tommy can barely go a month without losing a life. Obviously, being smart was passed down to him only, he thought.

"Trueeeee." He says followed by a laugh as he starts walking through the paths, remembering that he had to go through the path Tommy made in exile and then take a turn. "He keeps running straight into baby zombies! Truly can't believe this man, can't imagine how it must have been growing up with him." He says looking back at Wil waiting for him to follow.

Wilbur takes a moment. These paths are new. He looks around, enjoying the heat in contrast to how cold he felt in the afterlife. Or limbo. He didn’t know.

Noticing Techno was waiting on him, he put some antsy pep in his step and followed.  
“He was a good dad. Busy with a lot, but you could tell he cares.”

Techno chuckles. "Yeah, he does have that nature on him, doesn't he?" He says as he walks down the exile path, finally reaching the path to his home, helping Wil a little with the more parkour-ish parts.

He walks in front of them to fight a magma cube that was approaching them. "Do you want a sword or something, Wil? I'm using my axe so you can have my sword for now if you want." Techno suggests.

“Oh—“ A part of him still hates the image of swords. As long as it isn’t diamond, he’ll be fine. His breath turns uneven, “Yeah, sure.”

Techno eyes him briefly before looking into his inventory, pulling out the shinning netherite sword and handing it to him. "We're almost there." He says, being able to see the portal from afar.

He lets out a little sigh of relief, before stifling it back in. Wilbur carries the sword carefully in his hand, it down by his side. 

“Good. I bet it’ll be in better condition than L’manburg.” No way it can get any worse.

Techno laughs a little at that. "Of course it is, it's my house after all." He says with a playful tone.

When they reach the portal he goes through first once again.

“Careful letting me live here, then. My homes have a tendency of getting blown up,” Wilbur laughs. He looks at the Nether one final time, before following his friend. 

The white snow blinded him at first. He hadn’t seen snow in years and wasn’t expecting this.

Techno rolled his eyes at the idea of Wilbur blowing up things, after all, he was the one who caused the biggest amount of destruction between the two.

He lets out a small sigh looking at his breath forming in the air, he turns around to see Wil and realizes he's a little underdressed for the weather.

''Here.'' He says before taking off his cape and handing it to him. ''You need it more.'' He says, feeling on his hands how warm it was from his own body heat.

Wilbur scoffs in disbelief, before remembering how observant Techno was and how cold he was. He took the cape graciously and bundled up in it. The cape was huge on him. That’s not fair. He’s supposed to be the taller sibling.

“Thank you... Do you just wear big clothes to make yourself look bigger?”

''Uhhh, no. I just have a disease called 'taller than you, deal with it'. He said playfully making sure to stay near Wil to help with as much heat as he could before they reached their home.

“You... YOU ARE NOT TALLER THAN ME!” He gasped, reasoning his voice playfully. There was a kind glint in his eyes. “How tall are you? There’s no way.”

Techno, fully aware of their identical height when he's in his piglin form, uses the advantage of the hidden heels inside of his boots to look at Wil while standing straight, he was about half an inch taller. 

''I don't know, Wil. How tall am i?'' He says with a smug smile before starting to walk again.

“There is no. Way. I swear I grew taller than you a couple years ago! Philza should’ve seen it? I’m— Techno, don’t walk away from me!” He hissed. Wilbur runs after him slightly, slowed down by the cape.

Techno laughs a little louder. ''Why does it bother you so much?'' He says playfully, amused by how upset he looked. ''I quite simply just passed you in height. Noooo big deal.'' He says keeping his smug smile as he starts climbing a small mountain and helping Wil up.

“Because I remember being taller. I’m supposed to be the tall one here.” His legs were still rather getting used to the world again, so the small mountain seemed huge. He was grateful for the extra hand Techno gave.

"Nah, i've always been taller, for sure." He says as, now he can see the house from here. He pulls out a pair of ender pearls, giving one to Wil and pointing at the house. "You're still taller than Tommy tho." He says calmly as he starts aiming his pearl.

“Thank goodness. I’d die again if that kid were taller than me. As long as I’m older, I should be taller... That’s the thing with you,” He looks where Techno is looking and aims his pearl in a similar situation. “I’m older, if even by two minutes, there I should be taller.”

"Woah, woah, woah, and who told you you were older? You should punch whoever told you that because I'M the one older." He says before disappearing as he threw the pearl.

"Philza told me that. You really gonna punch the old man?" He chuckles, pearling after Technoblade. 

"Doubt you will, coward."

Techno looked at Wilbur. ''I think you're forgetting who you're talking to.'' he said with a chuckle. Now just walking towards the entrance.

"You mean the soft boy--" Wilbur takes a step back. "That's your home?" As a builder, he was impressed. He knew that the idea wasn't original, but the fact that Technoblade pulled it off so well got Wilbur's approval.

''Soft boy!? PFFFFT, the only one out of all of us that could be a soft boy would be you.'' He said finally reaching the staircase, kicking his feet a little to get the snow off of them.''Welcome to my humble abode.'' He says, opening the door in front of Wilbur.

“I’m not soft!” He smiles. “Yeah. Humble. You were bragging about it the whole way here.”

Wilbur walks through the door, surprised by the swarm of warm air.

Techno sighs in relief after feeling the warm air on his skin, the cape really helped him go around the snow so now that he didn't have it it was starting to hurt a little. ''I wouldn't call it 'bragging’ but go off i guess.'' He says before leaving his axe by the door and cleaning his table a little to sit down.

“Ayup. Pop off?” He grins, before wincing at the slight hint of discomfort on Techno’s face. “Do you want your giant ass cape back, shorty?”

Wilbur sits opposite of Technoblade, not quite prepared for the stiff wood.

Techno looks at him as he rubs his arms a little. ''Nah, i'm good, you need it more.'' He smiles at him. ''Do you want anything? Food? Potions?'' He asks walking towards a few nearby chests. He rolls his eyes at the nickname, making a mental note to use it against him soon.

“Fuck, mate. I’m starving,” Wilbur laughs, having not realised that prior. “Have you got... bread.” He inhaled happily. “I want bread so bad. I miss it.”

Bread. Bread. Bread. Bread. Bread.

No thoughts, only bread. He missed the smell. The taste... or the texture.

Techno started looking through his chests, knowing the bread was somewhere, just not exactly where.

As he looks through the chests he catches a glimpse of green.

He takes the small green object into his hands, a helmet, a turtle shell helmet. He didn't remember having a spare one. 

His expression changes slightly, being reminded of the back stab from someone he cared about. He carefully puts the helmet back, thinking about burning it later.

He keeps looking until he finally finds a few pieces of bread.

He grabs them and quickly goes up. ''Are you sure you just want bread? It could be a little stale-'' He says before leaving a loaf in front of him.

“It’s not Niki’s, but it’s bread. Thank you, Tech—“ He expression hardens, staring down the piglin man.

“Are you okay? What happened?” The bread, out of mind, and his friend, in full focus.

Techno didn't even realize he was still looking a little down. "Uhhh... Nothing just- Got reminded of someone. It's alright.'' He says with a soft smile. "Maybe you could go talk to Niki later? Bet she'll be happy to see you."

“I’m not sure she’d like that... I can try,” He smiles. Wilbur hoped she would be happy. He missed her smile.

“You should talk to someone. Who were you reminded of?”

Techno went back to sit down at the table, he was about to go by Wil's side but he remembers he was sitting on the opposite side. He stays silent for a few seconds upon sitting down. ''... Tommy...''

“Tommy? What did the child do now?” Wilbur tries to lighten the mood, eyeing Techno’s face for facial clues. Technoblade was always difficult to read when it came to emotions. Wilbur would call himself an expert.

Techno remains silent.

' he betrayed you. '  
' he broke your trust. '

"It's nothing." He tries to put on a smile.

' Traitor. '  
' He's a traitor. '

"Don't worry about it. But speaking of him, you should probably go visit him next, he'll be happy to see you." He said, trying to change the theme.

“...I don’t want to leave this unresolved. You two seem to be in a tight situation. Whether or not you want to tell me, is your choice.” The bread crunched as he moved through it with his teeth. It was definitely stale.

"It's just that- It's nothing. He doesn't care, i don't care, that's the end of that." He finishes. Getting steak for himself.

“Hmm...” Wilbur smiles, setting the quite disgusting bread down. He eyes Technoblade, sinking to the floor from the chair. “You care. I’ll let it go, though.” He just sort of lies on the hard floor, flopped over.

He looks at the man on the floor and sighs. "No, i don't." He says Before going to sit down by his side, moving the wood that kept the fire of the fireplace alive with a stick to ensure it's warmth.

“Shh...” He hushed, “Let it go.” Wilbur scoots towards the fire, leaning his head on the wall.

Techno just sighed. That helmet just reminded him of the one kid he had hoped for. He had hoped he'd change for the better. He had hoped he'd learn from his mistakes. He had hoped he'd be a better person.

He had hope he'd finally treat him like a human.

He guesses hope is for fools who don't want to face the truth in front of them.

Tommy would never change. And he didn't even know if that was a good or bad thing anymore. Techno found some sort of comfort in Wilbur's voice, he always sounded like you were safe with him, even if it wasn't true. "It... Doesn't matter. Anyway- Uh- What do you think?" He says, motioning to his home.

“It’s very warm and cozy. Although, why the fuck do you live where it’s so cold? You tryna kill me?” He yawns with a smile. A chuckle escapes mid-way. Wilbur didn’t actually mind the cold, it’s just that he had to tease Technoblade somehow.

Techno chuckled slightly. "Listen man- I had to go, I had to leave far away and- Well, I guess I never thought they'd try to find me in the snow." And he was partially right, they never even once went to look for him.

At least not without a forcefully taken hint.

Techno looked down at his hand, a few old burning scars adorning his skin where the totem was, he'd never admit it, but it hurt like hell.

“Those look fresh,” Wilbur sighs. “So they still tried? Even when I tried to stop them? They just can’t take a no.”

Wilbur frowns, remembering the exact moment he hit the button, feeling rocks fly at his face from the force. He had tried to stop them, but from what he saw. From what he heard. They tried to do the same thing again, and failed.

Hopefully that would be the last attempt at government.


End file.
